DENMARK: The railway between København and Ringsted via Køge Nord is now ready for 200 km/h running, infrastructure manager Banedanmark has announced.
The 60 km long double-track electrified line was built to increase capacity on the country’s principal inter-city corridor. It opened in 2019 with a running speed of 180 km/h and provision for a later increase.
Adjustments to the track, electrification, signalling and maintenance regime have now been made to meet 29 requirements for 200 km/h operation.
Initially, some German trains to Hamburg can run at the higher speed when needing to make up time. Large scale 200 km/h operation will not begin until national operator DSB has its first 200 km/h trains ready: Alstom is supplying 200 km/h IC5 Coradia Stream electric multiple-units, while DSB’s Talgo 230 trainsets will have a design speed of 230 km/h and an operating speed of 200 km/h.
‘Initially, it gives a better opportunity to recover from delays’, said Peter Svendsen, Traffic Director at Banedanmark, on January 26. ‘In the long term, there will also be an opportunity to cut the journey time.’
The higher speed applies from Avedøre to Ringsted, with the exception of the ends of the route and a section around Køge Nord where the maximum speed remains at 180 km/h.
